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TERMS & CONDITIONS OF REPRESENTATION 

By signing below, you indicate that you understand and agree to the following. If you disagree or do not understand anything contained herein, please contact us prior to signing it.

Initial Consult & Quote Email. It is our expectation that the information you provide, both during and after the initial consult is accurate. If, for example, we quote you a fee based on the information you provide initially, and then when you send us your documentation it turns out the charges are different, we may have to change the flat fee or our money back guarantee. If, for example, you make certain representations to us about your driving record or as to which court is handling your case, and then those representations turn out to be untrue, that may change the ultimate result. In addition, we cannot foretell what a prosecutor may or may not offer or what a judge will do at sentencing. So we may give you a rough estimate as to the fines that we anticipate you having to pay at the end of the case; however, the court may end up sentencing you to a higher fine than we initially anticipated.  Many court fines are in the $150-$300 range but others can be significantly higher ($500 or more). Therefore, in all cases, the information conveyed by us during the consult as to what may be accomplished if you hire us is merely an estimate and is not binding.

Payment Plans. During the initial consult you may be offered a payment plan either through our office or using a service called QuickFee (by using their service you are hereby agreeing to the terms and conditions of both the of the following: quickfee.com/terms-conditions/ and splitit.com/legals/splitit-shopper-terms-conditions/united-states/). A discounted price may be offered for full payment upfront. In the event you are approved for an installment plan via QuickFee, they will provide us the funds and you will be required to pay them the quoted fee in 4 equal installments. If you feel that you are entitled to a refund of any kind you hereby agree to contact us first to attempt to resolve any potential disputes or refund requests before contacting either QuickFee or your credit card company and we will work with QuickFee so they can issue you a refund if applicable. Note that Rosenblum Law is in no way affiliated with QuickFee except as a limited user of their service. We take no responsibility for any disputes between you and QuickFee.

Money Back Guarantee. We cannot guarantee you a specific outcome as we cannot predict the future as explained above. If we offer you a money back guarantee, what that means is that if we do not accomplish any reduction in points, we will give you a full refund of the fee you paid us. There are certain limitations to the guarantee, for example, if you opt to have us conduct a trial on your behalf, the money back guarantee no longer applies. The money back guarantee does not apply in every case (e.g. it does not apply in criminal cases, roadside reductions, or to Move Over Law and School Bus tickets) and applies in some Traffic Violations Bureau cases (see below).

Insurance and License Implications. We are attorneys and not insurance underwriters. Therefore, any information about insurance that we provide you is general information we found online but is not to be relied upon. Since underwriting guidelines are different from case to case and state to state, there is no way for us to know for certain how a conviction may affect your auto insurance. Drivers from States Other Than NY & NJ. We are licensed to practice law in NJ & NY only and thus cannot provide any legal advice as to the impacts of these offenses on any other state or country. As such, while we will attempt to secure the best possible resolution in the state in which your ticket was issued, we cannot take responsibility for the impact of the result in your home state. Any information that we may provide during the consultation such as the impact of the ticket in your home state is general in nature and is not to be construed as legal advice.

Commencement and Termination of Representation. Our obligations do not begin until you hire us which includes: (a) agreeing to these terms by signing below; (b) paying our attorney’s fee; and (c) sending us the required information about your ticket.  It is your obligation to provide us sufficient information to enable us to locate your case. If we cannot locate your ticket due to a lack of information, we will be unable to respond to it and take no responsibility for what may result, including license suspension. If you send us your documents or hire us too close to the plea deadline or court date for us to reasonably be able to take action, we take no responsibility for what may result, including but not limited to: conviction, license suspension, suspension fees, and bail. You have the right to terminate us at any point in time on written notice, however, we will still be entitled to retain a fee commensurate with the amount of time invested in your case and how far the case has progressed. Even if you terminate our representation in early stages of the case, a minimum fee of $300 will be retained for file preparation. We reserve the right to withdraw from your case for violation of any of the terms of this agreement. In that event, no fees will be refunded.

Driving Record. You hereby authorize us to purchase your driving record on a discretionary basis.

Communication. Since we may not have the opportunity to contact you in advance, we suggest you email us any mitigating factors that might assist in your defense at the time you hire us.  We cannot accept responsibility for your failure to provide us this information. While we prefer email communication, technology does not always work perfectly. If you send us an email and do not receive a timely reply there is a chance the email was not received. In that case, please call us directly to discuss your concern. You must notify us if your phone number or email address changes. If we make reasonable attempts to reach you, but cannot, we take no responsibility for what may result, including a less favorable result, our withdrawal from your case with no refund, additional legal fees, and/or license suspension.

Appearance in Court. If you hire us to represent you for a traffic violation (as opposed to a criminal case) pending in New York State, in most cases you will not have to appear in court unless the judge requires you to appear. Most but not all New Jersey courts require the defendant to appear in court with the attorney if they live within a certain distance of the courthouse (varies from court to court). If you are not present in court, the Waiver document you signed authorizes us or an attorney who we authorize (who may not be a member of the Rosenblum Law Firm) to appear in court on your behalf and either plead guilty to a reduced offense or conduct a trial, if warranted. Once our obligations begin, we are the point of contact with the court on your case. If you show up in court or enter a guilty plea to a ticket without notifying us prior, we take no responsibility for the consequences. Our fee is non-refundable and an additional legal fee may be charged by us for additional time we had to spend as a result of your actions.

Time Frames. The average time frame to resolve a case outside NYC is 10-12 weeks; it could be longer or sooner depending on the court's schedule.  In NYC cases typically take 6-18 mo. but can take longer.

Court Ordered Fines & Penalties. In certain cases the prosecutor or judge may require you to take a driver safety course (which can be completed online) as a condition of your case. We have no control over this offer and if mandated it is your obligation to take it and pay for it.  In all cases, once your case is complete, we contact you by email. The email will contain fine payment information, if applicable. At the end of your case, if applicable, a fine, mandatory surcharge, points and Driver Responsibility Assessment may result. You are responsible to pay the court and DMV all of these penalties; they are not included in our flat fee. We will endeavor to communicate the case results in as timely a manner as possible; however, there are times that there is a delay in the information being transmitted to us which could cause our communication to you to be delayed. We appreciate your patience in this regard. If you fail to pay your fines when they are due, we take no responsibility for the consequences which may include but not be limited to: Additional court fines, a bench warrant, suspension of your driving privileges, and the need for additional court appearances which are not included in our initial flat fee and will be billed separately.

Court / DMV Errors. Our responsibility is to handle the resolution of your case in court, which entails either negotiation of your ticket (if applicable) or trial. Any subsequent matters (e.g. appeals) or errors that are caused by the court or DMV (e.g. the court submits incorrect information to DMV) are not our responsibility and are not covered by the initial fee. We may, in our sole discretion, agree to handle those matters but if so an additional legal fee will be assessed.

Court Counsel. By engaging our services you authorize us or any licensed attorney of our choosing (who may or may not be a member of the Rosenblum Law Firm) to appear in court and perform legal work on your behalf including but not limited to entering a plea or conducting a trial, if warranted.

THE FOLLOWING APPLIES IN THE TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS BUREAU (“TVB”) OF NEW YORK CITY ONLY: If you have not already entered a plea of “not guilty” we will enter a plea to the ticket on your behalf, and then the TVB will notify us of the court date. In the TVB there is a “no plea bargain” policy which means we cannot negotiate a reduction of the charges you are facing. As such, the case will be scheduled for a trial. At the end of the trial the judge will make a ruling of either guilty or not guilty. If you are found "not guilty" you will receive no points or fines. If you are found "guilty" a fine and points will be applied. Therefore, our objective is to obtain a dismissal by (a) asking the court to dismiss the case if the prosecuting officer fails to appear in court; or (b) conducting cross-examination (questioning) of the police officer at trial to determine whether he or she can prove his case as it is their burden to establish your guilt. Often, this will require several court appearances, and postponements can (but do not necessarily) increase the chances of a dismissal. As your counsel, you authorize us to use our discretion to decide whether a postponement is appropriate or whether a trial is the best choice under the circumstances. For example, we at times exercise discretion to do a trial if we are assigned a judge that we believe will be more favorable to your case. Other times, we have no discretion; if the officer appears on a scheduled court date, the judge may give us no choice but to conduct the trial at that point in time. By signing this agreement you acknowledge that you are hiring The Rosenblum Law Firm to conduct your defense and that our fee is not contingent on winning your case; if you are found guilty at trial you will not be entitled to a refund of our legal fees unless one was offered to you during the initial consult. Since we may not have the opportunity to contact you in advance of the trial, we suggest you email us any mitigating factors that might assist in your defense at the time you hire us. If you decide you’d like to come to court, please advise us of same at least seven (7) days prior. Even if you attend court the date may be postponed and you may be required to come back; up to three or more appearances may be required before the trial actually takes place (the DMV judge has discretion to adjourn a case as many times as he or she wants). It is not our duty to advise you of the court date and any date we convey to you cannot be relied on; you must log on to the DMV website to verify the date on your own. Unless you tell us otherwise, we will rightfully assume that you will not attend court; in such event, we cannot testify on your behalf but we can still conduct the trial and cross-examine the police officer. While it is a rare occurrence, there are times where we exercise our discretion and enter a guilty plea to the original charges to avoid more serious consequences (i.e. license suspension). You hereby authorize us to use our discretion and enter a guilty plea where appropriate.  In certain cases, we might be required to post a refundable bond of $40 per ticket in order to get a new date. We will post the bond on your behalf and you hereby agree to reimburse us. We will attempt to reach you regarding reimbursement but if you do not respond within 24 hours, you hereby authorize us to charge the bond fee to the credit card you used to hire us.

THE FOLLOWING APPLIES IN ALL COURTS EXCEPT THE TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS BUREAU OF NEW YORK CITY: Since our objective is to save you points, fines, and from getting an auto insurance increase, the preferred method is to negotiate a reduction of the offense with the prosecutor. This eliminates the risk of a conviction which could happen if we were to take the ticket(s) to trial. If you have not already done so, our first step will be to plead “not guilty” to your ticket(s). The date on the front of your ticket(s) is the deadline to enter the plea – not an actual appearance date to negotiate a reduction.  Therefore, once we submit a “not guilty” plea, the court will schedule a new court date that is different from the one listed on your ticket. In the meantime, we may reach out to the prosecutor and reach a settlement and use our best judgment to negotiate and accept the best reduction possible under the circumstances. If we are able to negotiate your ticket(s) down to a reduction that we deem acceptable, we will accept it on your behalf. In the rare case where the prosecutor does not offer to reduce the points, we will attempt to contact you to discuss your options. One option will be to get a full refund of our attorney’s fee and plead guilty. The other option will be to apply the attorney’s fee you have already paid to hire us to conduct a trial. If you choose the trial option, the result is not guaranteed and our fee is non-refundable. Unless you tell us otherwise, we assume you will not attend the trial; in such event, we cannot testify on your behalf but we can still conduct the trial and cross-examine the police officer. Please note that in some cases, we may not be able to contact you and offer you the above options and our attorney will have to use his or her best discretion and judgment as to whether to plead guilty or conduct the trial. In all cases, a fine, mandatory surcharge, points and Driver Responsibility Assessment may result. You are responsible to pay the court and DMV all of these penalties; they are not included in our flat fee. Select courts will not accept a plea to a reduced charge unless the fine is paid on the spot. In those cases, we may pay your fine as a courtesy to you. We will attempt to reach you regarding reimbursement but if you do not respond to our email within 24 hours, you hereby authorize us to charge the reimbursement to the credit card you used to hire us.

By signing below you hereby agree to all of the above including but not limited to the minimum fee of $300 that will be retained for file preparation even if you terminate our services.

Terms and Conditions Accepted: Yes.

2024-04-24 19:54:01

Rosenblum Law will issue a full refund of the attorney’s fee if we are unable to get a reduction of the total NY points you were facing initially.

Importantly, the New York attorney ethical rules may not permit us to guarantee a specific result; hence, we may not be permitted to guarantee a reduction to a specific offense (for example, a 0-point violation) as there are certain matters that may occur that are beyond our control (the prosecutor may not agree, the judge may not approve the plea bargain, etc.). However, the guarantee that we do provide is that if we are not able to get any reduction of points we guarantee a full refund of the attorney’s fee.

This guarantee does not apply to:

A) Tickets handled in the Traffic Violations Bureau (5 boros of NYC) or any other case scheduled for trial.
B) Move Over Law (VTL 1144) or School Bus (VTL 1174) tickets.
C) Crimes.

If you have any further questions about our Money Back Guarantee, please feel free to email us or give us a call 888-883-5529 .

Q. What is the general procedure moving forward?

A. We will send a letter of representation to the court with a plea of “not guilty.” Ultimately the court will set a NEW court date (i.e. not the date listed on your ticket – see below). Our objective is to obtain a reduction in points. This is accomplished by negotiating a settlement with the prosecutor. If we can reach a settlement, it will avoid the risk of losing at trial, even though a settlement means that you will ultimately have to pay a fine.

Q. Can I expect a result on my case after the court date listed on my ticket?

A. No. If you read the ticket carefully, it says “Return By Mail OR Appear in Person On…” which indicates that if the ticket is returned by mail with a plea, a court appearance is not required. Once we enter a plea to the ticket on your behalf, the court will send us a court appearance date.

Q. What if I want an update on my case?

A. The best way is by email. Feel free to send an email to [email protected] at any time and ask for an update.

Q. What if I get a court date or other ticket-related notice by mail?

A. While your lawyer probably also has a copy, it is not a bad idea to email or fax it over to Adam. The fax number is 866-899-7993.

Q. How long does it normally take for a case to be resolved?

A. The average is 10-12 weeks; it could be longer or sooner depending on the court’s schedule. Some courts only have court night once a month and when their calendar is filled they push the date forward.

Q. The court notice says “appearance required” – does that mean I need to show up?

A. If you have an attorney, no appearance is required unless the judge makes an exception and demands that you appear which is very rare. Adam will notify you if this is the case; otherwise you do NOT need to appear.

Q. How will I be notified when my case is complete?

A. You will be sent an email and if you don’t respond you will be called. Please make sure a current email address and phone number are on file. If your information changes and you cannot be reached you are at risk of license suspension.

Q. Is there a chance my case will be dismissed? If not, what penalties can I expect?

A. If your case is NOT in the 5 boros of NYC we will attempt to negotiate a “plea bargain” or settlement with the prosecutor. This is a better approach to taking the ticket to trial and trying for a dismissal because if you are found guilty you will get the full number of points and fines. If we do a plea bargain, the result is a guaranteed reduction in points and fines, however there will also be a fine which is a necessary element of a plea bargain. During your consult, we may give you a rough estimate as to the fines that we anticipate you having to pay at the end of the case; however, the court may end up sentencing you to a higher fine than we initially anticipated. Many court fines are in the $150-$300 range but others can be significantly higher ($500 or more). In certain cases the prosecutor or judge may require you to take a driver safety course (which can be completed online) as a condition of your case. We have no control over this offer and if mandated it is your obligation to take it and pay for it. If no plea bargain is offered by the prosecutor, we will have no choice but to do a trial.

Traffic Violations Bureaus of New York City

Q. What is the general procedure moving forward?

A. We enter a plea of “not guilty” on your behalf unless you have done so already. The case may or may not be postponed several times (as below) for strategic purposes but ultimately will likely go to trial, unless the officer does not show up and the case is dismissed. Our goal is to present the case in the most favorable light, and question the officer on his or her testimony. If he or she fails to prove their case, the case will be dismissed and there will be no points or fine. If, on the other hand, the judge makes a guilty finding, you will get the points and fine associated with the infraction you were found guilty of. Due to the hearsay rules, we cannot testify for you. However, we may be able to present evidence that you supply us (e.g. a dashcam video or cell phone bill). In addition, if you think your recital of the facts will assist us in presenting your case at trial, please email the details to [email protected] as soon as possible since we may not reach out to you in advance of the trial.

Q. I have not responded yet. The ticket says a response is due within 15 days – should I do that?

A. No. We will enter a plea to the ticket on your behalf, and then the court will send us a court appearance date. Whereas a non-attorney can enter a plea of guilty online, their court date is likely to be shorter than the date assigned an attorney case. Hence, it is preferred that you allow our firm to enter the initial not guilty plea.

Q. Will you get my points reduced or eliminated?

A. It depends. The TVB has a “no plea bargain” policy which means there is no way to negotiate a reduction in points. Therefore, in most cases we take very case to trial (except in rare circumstances, see below). Since every case goes to trial, our objective is to win your case and if we do (i.e. if you are found “not guilty”) there will be no points and no fine. If you are found guilty, you will get the full number of points and a fine that the judge will choose based on TVB guidelines. If you are facing speeding charges and your speed is within 5mph of the next lower point category, many judges will allow a slight reduction in speed which will bring your ticket down to the next lower point category. So for example, say you are facing a speed of 71mph in a 50mph zone (6 points), the judge may find you guilty of 70mph in a 50mph zone (4 points). This reduction is not guaranteed and is in the discretion of each individual judge. Finally, in the rare case that we end up before a judge that is likely to suspend your license due to the charges and/or your driving history, we may exercise our discretion to enter a guilty plea at the window so as to avoid the risk of a judge-ordered license suspension.

Q. Will my license get suspended?

A. It depends. In general, TVB judges will not suspend for less than 11 points. However, since any NYS or TVB judge is authorized to suspend a NYS driver’s license, it is possible that a judge will suspend your license for less than 11 points. Conversely, a judge is empowered to NOT suspend your license even if you hit 11 points or more. In cases where a conviction will lead to 11 points or more, we suggest you take a driver safety class as soon as possible. Taking the class will not certainly prevent license suspension, but many judges will consider the fact that you have taken the class as a reason to not suspend you.

Q. What if I want an update on my case?

A. Since in TVB cases we try to get as many postponements as possible, the process can take a year or more. Any time you would like to check on the status of you case you can search for the upcoming court date using this link. Once the scheduled date passes, feel free to check that same website to see if your case was resolved, or rescheduled by our law firm.

Q. What if I get a court date or other ticket-related notice by mail?

A. While your lawyer probably also has a copy, it is not a bad idea to email or fax it over to Adam. The fax number is 866-899-7993.

Q. How long does it normally take for a case to be resolved? How long can a case be postponed?

A. In the TVB of the 5 boros of NYC, the average time frame for a trial is 8-12 months from the date you were ticketed. While the conventional wisdom says to adjourn as long as possible in hopes the officer will not show up, if the officer does show up at an earlier scheduled court date, we may have to conduct the trial at that point in time. We also at times exercise discretion to do a trial if we are assigned a judge that we believe will be more favorable to our case. In certain cases, we might be required to post a bond of $40 per ticket in order to get a new date. We will post the bond on your behalf and contact you so you can reimburse us.

Q. Do I need to show up in court? Should I show up in court?

A. If you hire us to represent you, you do not need to show up in court. However, if you do not show up in court and a trial is held, we will not be able to testify on your behalf. Instead, we can present our arguments to the judge and also cross-examine (question) the police officer. Most of our clients do not wish to show up in court, hence, unless you advise us otherwise, we will assume you will not be present in court and we will proceed as usual. If you decide you’d like to come to court, please advise us of same at least seven (7) days prior. Even if you attend court the date may be postponed and you may be required to come back; up to three or more appearances may be required before the trial actually takes place (the DMV judge has discretion to adjourn a case as many times as he or she wants). It is not our duty to advise you of the court date and any date we convey to you cannot be relied on; you must log on to the DMV website to verify the date on your own.

Q. How will I be notified when my case is complete?

A. You will be sent an email with a request to reply and confirm receipt. If you don’t respond, we will call you. IMPORTANT: Please make sure a current email address and phone number are on file. If your information changes and you cannot be reached you are at risk of license suspension.